Fighting triple negative breast cancer at The James

April 5, 2012

In September 2009 at the age of 29, just days after giving birth to her second child, Anne Wolf of Orrville, Ohio, was diagnosed with stage IV triple negative breast cancer. Physicians determined the cancer grew very rapidly during her pregnancy; it had already spread to her lymph nodes, liver, and bones.

Despite the diagnosis, Anne's outlook was positive. She faced the battle head on. She asked for an army of people to help with prayers and well wishes to help her through the fight. She and her family received an outpouring of support from family members, friends, co-workers, and members of the community.

During her four-month battle, Anne showed remarkable grace and optimism in the face of adversity. While taking care of her young family, she encouraged the women in her life to get mammograms, and persistently researched her illness and treatment options. On December 31, 2009, she was admitted to the hospital due to muscle pain, fever, and fatigue. Anne passed away on January 8, 2010, thus ending her short battle with triple negative breast cancer. Along with other loving family members, Anne left behind her husband of almost eight years, a three-year-old daughter and a four-month-old son.

Anne, a 2002 graduate of Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business, will always be remembered for her smile, sense of humor, love, positive attitude, and compassion. Even while facing her own obstacles, Anne tried to educate those around her so that breast cancer would never affect other women in her life.

The Anne M. Wolf Fund for Breast Cancer Research was created to honor Anne, who wanted to improve the lives of others affected with this disease. Anne’s husband, Josh Wolf; Anne’s sisters, Amy Lahmers and Beth Baldwin; and two family friends, Melissa Rupp and Jamie Marks, established the Anne M. Wolf Breast Cancer Foundation, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. The foundation’s board of directors researched several opportunities for partnership and found a match with The James. The foundation’s focus on donating funds to research is essential to their mission.

Amy Lahmers, vice chair of the foundation and staff member in Ohio State’s College of Medicine, commented, “By supporting the Anne M. Wolf Fund for Breast Cancer Research, you too become a part of Anne's army. Your gift will make a difference in helping to improve the outcome of women with triple negative breast cancer. The research being done at The James will be instrumental in finding a cure to protect all women from this dreadful disease.”

The Anne M. Wolf Fund for Breast Cancer Research is devoted to advancing research in triple negative breast cancer at The James. This cancer is one subtype that is very aggressive, generally affects young women, and often does not respond to chemotherapy or other treatments. The fund will support research in three areas: 1) discovering new drugs for triple negative breast cancer; 2) testing these new drugs in clinical trials; and 3) understanding the biology or what makes triple negative breast cancers resistant to most chemotherapies.

For more information, contact the Anne M. Wolf Foundation at AMWF@annesarmy.org. If you'd like to make a gift, you may do so online now.